Life After Death
by Darwin Tremor
Summary: Darwin Tremor manages to escape the shootout alive, and he ends up meeting a woman named, Red. After a series of unpredictable events, Darwin returns home to resume a normal life after his close encounter with death.


On the top floor of the parking garage, in broad daylight, Hollis Elmore unloaded the chamber of his semi-automatic at Darwin Tremor. He shot blindly. His eyes looked to the north, while the business end of his firearm faced east, and he just assumed that he hit his target square in the back. He didn't care where he shot Darwin, just as long as it ended his life. Hollis lowered his gaze to the warm pistol resting on his aching palm, considering it a job well done, and he got into the Pontiac and drove away.

Flies circle around the back of Darwin's head, homing in on the thick scent of blood and sweat and burning fabric. Darwin opens his blue eyes and he slowly rolls onto his stomach, groaning in pain. He digs the tip of his joint against the hot cement to put it out and he tucks it into the pocket of his oversized blazer. The puffs he took earlier managed to dull some of the pain, but he can't stay here forever. The police are swarming the area.

Darwin places his hand down, bracing his weight on his left forearm and he slowly pushes himself up. He reaches up to touch the back of his shoulder, cupping the area where the bullets grazed him. It was a sign from God. He wasn't calling His righteous hand home yet. Darwin wandered the parking lot, trying to find an unlocked car, and fortunately, he does. He pries the glove box open to find some money and he sees camping equipment in the backseat. Unfortunately, the canteen he picks up is empty. He stuffs the money into his pocket and he grabs the ball cap to cover his matted hair. Darwin shuts the door and walks down to the bottom floor, listening to the hoard of people behind him talk about the firefight that just occurred half an hour ago. He survived it.

Storeowners and people are standing on the streets, eyes facing the hotel with the broken windows. The televisions are all playing the same station, and everyone's distracted. Darwin walks by the onlookers, going unnoticed, and he finds a store without a metal detector. He walks in, heads to the tourist section to grab some travel-size items, and he walks out without any trouble or interference. The pain is starting to come, and he slides into an alleyway, gritting his teeth. He pulls the plastic wrapper off a bottle of painkillers and pops three pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry.

He's far away from home and there's no way he can get back there without being caught. He can barely make it a block without having to stop. Darwin slowly sits down in the dark alleyway and he strips off his blazer to look at the bullet wound. At least it shot straight through. With bloody hands, Darwin takes the miniature sewing kit and the wax-free dental floss out of his pocket and he narrows his eyes, threading the needle. He starts to suture the hole shut, guiding the floss through his skin. He sews a five-point star before pulling the wound together and he bites the thick thread to cut it. He doesn't have gauze or rubbing alcohol, but this is better than leaving the wound to fester. He had to do something.

Darwin peels his shirt off to look at the graze on his right side and it doesn't look too bad. It's just a scratch. He places his shirt on his lap and he allows his shoulder wound to breathe, taking the time to think. An hour goes by, and Darwin notices that the heat of the day is going away. Night will come and he'll be able to roam slower, but until then, he stays put. When exhaustion kicks in, Darwin closes his eyes and he falls asleep. A few hours later, he wakes to find the walkways dark and the streetlights on. Falling asleep was stupid, but he couldn't help it. People should be eating dinner or out of their homes at this hour, and sleeping made time go by a little faster. Darwin slowly puts his shirt and blazer back on and he gets to his feet, leaning against the wall for support. He needs to find a place to stay. Darwin steps out of the alleyway and he walks down the sidewalk, leaving his bloodstained ball cap behind. He glances at the stores, the hotels and the apartments. Someone in Stateline will be getting an unexpected visitor tonight. He searches and searches.

After walking down several blocks, Darwin comes across a rundown apartment. He eyes the fire escape ladder hanging in the alleyway and he quietly pulls it down to his feet. Darwin slowly climbs the ladder until he steps onto the first platform. There isn't much of a selection to choose from, but he finds a window and he pulls it open. He crouches down and he steps into the apartment, closing the window behind him. He just needs some clean clothes; fresh water and he'll be out of here. The idea of interrupting someone's night doesn't seem like such a good idea now. It's a fight he wouldn't win, not in his current state.

Darwin heads into the small kitchen and he grabs a glass from the counter, filling it with water. After taking a drink, he looks around the dark room and he searches for pictures on the wall to indicate how many people might be living here. He places the glass down and he heads for the hallway. There's a picture of an old couple on the wall and a few pictures of cats. He's under the impression that an elderly couple lives here.

Before he ventures any further, he heads back into the kitchen to grab a knife from the drawer and he walks to the bedroom. Darwin pushes the door open, finding it difficult to see anything. The windows are closed and the shades are down. He rubs his sticky fingers together and he creeps closer to the closet to see what he can wear. Unexpectedly, the lamp on the dresser flickers on and he finds himself staring at a Smith and Wesson snub nose revolver. He drops the knife, raising his hands. To his surprise, the person holding the firearm doesn't sound like an old woman.

"_Who are you, and what are you doing in my apartment?_"

Darwin recalls the pictures hanging on the wall and he realizes that the elderly couple must be her parents. "_I got into some trouble and I'm just here lookin' for some water and some clean clothes._" He can see that her hands are shaking, which makes the gun shake, and he points at it. "_I sure hope the safety is on because the way your hands are shakin', you're more liable to shoot yourself, instead of me._"

The woman glances at the firearm, not even knowing where or what the 'safety' is. She points the revolver at him again. "_You're lying. You came here to steal from me or rape me or both._" The woman extends her arms and Darwin raises his hands a little higher, and that causes him to wince. His shoulder hurts.

"_If I wanted tail, I'd pay for it. A man that forces himself on a woman ain't a man at all._"

The woman hesitantly lowers her weapon, still cautious. She sits down in the chair next to her bed, and she studies the intruder. Darwin slowly lowers his hands, and the woman motions to the bottom drawer of her dresser.

"_Open that drawer, and the shirt and sweatpants are yours._"

He walks over to open the drawer, until he remembers how dirty his hands are. "_Look, I hate to seem ungrateful, but do you think I can use your bathroom to wash up? My hands are covered in dirt and shit._"

The woman nods to the bathroom down the hallway, and he walks to it. There's no doubt that she's right behind him, keeping watch over what he does.

The lights are kept off, and Darwin cups the water in his hands, splashing it on his face. He leans up to remove his blazer, and the armed woman watches him. He washes his face, dribbles water over his head and he scrubs the blood out of his ears.

Without warning, she turns the lights on and she sees the color of the water in the sink. She raises the revolver again, pressing her back against the wall.

"_You're covered in blood! Why are you covered in blood?_" Darwin keeps his eyes down and he rubs his thumb against the rim of the sink, wondering how he should explain himself. He's pretty sure that this is it.

"_You probably heard about it already. I was at the Nomad when all that crazy shit was goin' down. I was there with my brothers, but they didn't make it out._" Darwin pauses, realizing that he hasn't had a chance to mourn them yet. He was too high on weed and adrenaline to care, too focused on getting out alive, even if it meant escaping alone.

"_I've had a really rough day and I just wanna get back home._" For some weird reason, the woman feels sorry for him. Darwin turns to face her and the first thing she notices are his blue, god-like eyes. "_Are you gonna make me have a rough night, too?_"

She stares at him long enough for her eyes to go dry and she blinks, lowering the firearm again.

"_No._"

Darwin looks her over and he goes back to washing his face, surprised that she didn't call the police on him.

After Darwin finishes washing his face and forearms, he leans against the sink. He looks at his reflection in the mirror, turning his face from side-to-side to see if he has any cuts or bruises that he might have missed.

"_You can… You can take a bath. I won't bother you._" Darwin looks at her again, and without hesitation, he starts to unbutton his red shirt.

"_Mighty kind of you. I think I need a bath after today._" The woman heads back to the bedroom to grab the clothes from the drawer and she places it near the foot of the open door. Darwin strips out of his grimy clothes and he steps into the bathtub, filling it with hot water.

When the bathtub fills two inches from the top, Darwin turns the water off and he picks up a bottle from the small table. There are several different bottles and these aren't brands that people normally use. Most of these are bath oils. Darwin shrugs his shoulders and he picks a bottle at random, squeezing whatever's inside of it into the water. He uses his forearm to stir the oil in and he begins to wash himself. After a few minutes, he remembers that he hasn't stitched up the back of his shoulder yet. He wipes the water off his face, looking at the open door.

"_Uh, ma'am! Think you can come here for a moment? I need you help._"

The woman emerges from the bedroom and into the hallway, and she leans into the bathroom. Darwin turns his back to her. "_This is gonna sound real strange, but do you know how to stitch a wound?_" He motions to the blazer hanging on the edge of the sink.

"_I have a needle and some floss in there, and I just need you ta stitch me up. I'd do it, but I can't reach._" The woman stares at him with wide eyes, but her feet move her forward. "_Jesus! How did you get that?_" She leans closer to the bullet wound and Darwin rubs the stubble on his cheek.

"_I pissed off the wrong person. I'll leave it at that._"

Darwin continues to wash himself, while the woman stares at his shoulder. It looks puffy and red, and she knows that wounds can get infected.

"_Did you sterilize it yet?_" Darwin shakes his head. The woman stands up and she opens the medicine cabinet, grabbing a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She kneels down near the bathtub.

"_I'm going to pour some rubbing alcohol on you before I try to stitch you up._" The woman pours the harsh liquid over his wound and she watches his back muscles tense. She's aware that she left the firearm in the bedroom, but this man hasn't threatened her yet. He's also injured, so she's not too worried about him causing her any harm. In the middle of stitching Darwin's wound, she clears her throat.

"_You can call me Red._"

Darwin stops scrubbing his leg and he looks over his shoulder, wondering how he should respond to that. He lowers his gaze back to the trembling water. "_Nice to meet you, Red. I'm Darwin._" Half an hour goes by, and Darwin drains the water from the bathtub and he braces himself on the towel rack to get up. Red quickly exits the bathroom to grab a clean towel from the closet and just as Darwin turns around, she holds it in front of his waist. He slowly smirks, and he wraps the towel around him.

"_Saved by the towel, right?_"

Red blushes furiously. "_Oh. Yes. Right._"

She leaves the bathroom to let him get dressed, and she goes into the kitchen. She gets a drink of water to calm her nerves, wondering what compelled her to allow a complete stranger the right to take a bath in her home. She looks at her hands and she can feel the weight of his blood on her fingers, and she turns the faucet on to wash her hands. Inside of the bathroom, Darwin pulls the shirt and the baggy sweatpants on, barely able to keep it near his waist.

He leaves the bathroom to look for Red and when he sees her pick up her cell phone, he grabs her wrist.

"_Who are you callin'?_" She stares at him, nearly dropping her phone.

"_I'm calling the… I thought you might be hungry, so I was about to order some pizza._" He turns her wrist to look at the screen and it shows the number to one of the local pizza restaurants. Darwin slowly releases her and he sits down at the table, more than conflicted.

"_I'm sorry. I'm a little jumpy._" Red rubs her wrist and she dials the number, ordering a large pizza with a shaky voice. She ends the call, and she sits down at the table across of him. Darwin stares at her, not used to being in the company of someone that's not a client or his brothers. He glances at the hallway.

"_When I saw the picture on the wall, I thought an old couple lived here. I didn't expect to find you lyin' in bed._"

Red turns around to look at the picture, letting out a soft laugh. "_Oh, that's a picture of my parents. They live in Michigan._"

Darwin rubs his shoulder, nodding his head to show that he acknowledges what she's saying. Red averts her eyes, looking off to the side. "_Why where you and your brothers there at the Nomad? I was on my way home when I heard what happened on the radio. It was horrible. The police said it was a robbery._"

Darwin chuckles when he hears the lies the police told the reporters, and he shakes his head. "_It wasn't a robbery. My brothers and I were there to hunt down a man named Buddy Israel. He was the type of guy that couldn't keep his mouth shut, so someone put a hit out on him. There was just one problem. When you publicize a hit, a free-for-all, it's like you're givin' all the hungry wolves in the world the location to the last sheep on earth. It was a goddamn massacre, and my brothers and I weren't the only ones there. I ain't sure how many of them got outta there alive, but I know that my brothers didn't._"

This makes Red very uncomfortable, and she thinks about the revolver she left in the bedroom. Yet she's also spellbound by the fact that these people do exist. Darwin rubs the bridge of his nose, thinking about what happened. "_They were my kin, my blood. They're gone._" Red sees how it affects him, and she's tempted to reach out and touch his hand, but since she knows what he's capable of, it makes her hands stay on her lap.

"_I'm sorry about your brothers. I'm sure they were good men._"

Darwin wipes his eyes, nodding his head. "_They were assholes, but I loved them. Goddamn._" He exhales; the tears are gone.

Red tries to relax the muscles that make her back stiff and she crosses her legs, tugging her nightgown down. "_How much was the hit for, or whatever it's called?_"

Darwin leans back in his chair and he shrugs. "_About one million._"

There's a knock at the door and Red jumps in her seat, touching her chest to steady her heart. Darwin remains calm, tilting his head at the door.

"_I think that's the pizza._" Red nearly knocks her chair over when she stands to pay for the food. She takes the pizza box, shuts the door, and she turns to see that Darwin's gone. Red steps into the kitchen and she stares at the open window, remembering what he said. Just when she thinks he left, she whips around when the kitchen light turn on.

"_Sorry about that. I just wanna see you better._" Red combs her hair around her face to make her curls hug her pale cheeks and she lowers her eyes. He motions to her nightgown, sitting back down in his seat. "_Shame that nightgown of yours ain't see-through._" Red blushes again, gripping the collar of her nightgown.

"_You… I'd never wear anything see-through._" Darwin opens the pizza box when she places it down, and he takes out a slice, eating the crust first.

"_That's a shame._" He wonders how far he can push her before she kicks him out, not that he wants to be kicked out.

Red opens the fridge to look for something to drink and Darwin watches her, noticing the things that line the plastic shelves. Red grabs a bottle of beer and a bottle of water. She places the beer in front of Darwin and he uses the edge of the table to remove the cap from the tip. He takes a drink, looking at her down the length of the bottle.

"_How does it feel to know you're sittin' across a killer?_" The question catches Red off guard and from her experience; men like Darwin enjoy making other people uncomfortable. Then again, watching Law & Order shouldn't be considered 'experience.' She decides to be honest. "_You terrify me._"

Darwin licks some sauce off his thumb, not looking at her.

"_Who else lives here?_" It's another question Red didn't expect, and she shakes her head.

"_No one._"

Darwin slightly narrows his eyes. "_I can smell cologne on this shirt. You have beer in the fridge, but you chose to drink water. Also, I bet that gun ain't even yours. If you're gonna lie, then I got one for you, too._" He leans over, lowering his voice. "_I'm not dangerous._"

Red stands up from the table and she sprints to the bedroom to grab the revolver, but when her hands fall on the bed, she can't find it. When she turns around to face the open door, Darwin is leaning against the doorframe. He's scratching the side of his head with the firearm.

"_You know, one perk about doin' what I do for a livin', you learn a few things. Like how to move quickly and quietly without bein' noticed._"

Red backs up against the wall, grabbing the lamp off her dresser. "_Don't… Don't come near me._"

Darwin shakes his head, lowering the gun to his side. "_You really think that lamp will protect you from a bullet?_"

She has the option to scream, but it wouldn't do any good. By the time anyone came to her aid, it would be too late and Darwin would be gone. Red hugs the lamp to her chest and she slides down on the floor.

"_What do you want?_"

Darwin comes closer to her and he kneels down, wincing when the graze on the side of his body irritates him. "_I just want the truth. Who else lives here?_" He touches his side, watching her body tremble with fear, and Red tries to take a deep breath.

"_I told you the truth. No one else lives here._"She pauses."_My boyfriend comes over every so often, though. You're wearing his clothes and the gun belongs to him._"

Darwin empties the cylinder of the revolver and he places the six bullets on the dresser. He places the gun on the bed, and he touches the lampshade. "_Let go of the lamp._"

Red clings to it, but she slowly releases her grip. Darwin places the lamp back on the dresser and he straightens up.

"_How often does he come over?_"

Red touches the wall, rising to her feet. "_He's probably working late tonight. He only comes over on the weekends and he doesn't really stay long._"

Darwin looks her over and he stands to the side, nodding to the kitchen. "_Let's head back into the kitchen, and talk about this._"

Red creeps closer to the door and she slinks pass him, back into the kitchen. Darwin sits down across of her and he rubs his face with his hands.

"_What does your boyfriend do for a livin'?_"

This is a question that Red doesn't want to answer. She picks at a scab on her forearm, deciding to give him a vague response.

"_He works for the government._"

Darwin softly chuckles, and he takes a bite out of his half-eaten pizza slice. "_Government, huh? You know how many government jobs are out there? What does he do, specifically?_"

Red feared this question, considering what Darwin is and does, so she gets defensive. "_What does it matter to you? It's a Thursday night. You'll probably be gone by tomorrow._"

Darwin feels his patience dwindle, and he lowers his eyes to put himself at ease. "_Because if he comes here unexpectedly, I wanna know what kinda man I'm gonna have to deal with._" He leaves 'deal with' undefined, and he continues.

"_He works for the government, and you don't wanna tell me what he does, which leads me to believe that he hunts people like me._" Red sighs, unable to deny him answers. "_He works for the FBI. He doesn't come over unannounced, and he's probably in his office dealing with tons of paperwork right now._"

Darwin feels some of the tension leave his chest, and he starts to eat again. He goes quiet to let their emotions settle and when he's full, he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. There's only one question left to ask. "_Am I safe here?_"

Red thinks about that, and she closes the pizza box. "_You are. I won't call the police._"

Silence fills the kitchen and Darwin stands up from his chair, hating the fact that he can't stretch his arms. He glances at the couch in the small living room. "_I suppose that's my bed._" Darwin touches his side and he heads over to the couch, slowly sitting down on it. He tosses the small pillow against the armrest and he lies back. He rolls his eyes, almost forgetting. "_Goddamn it. Do you think you can grab my painkillers from my blazer and bring it to me?_"

Red nods her head, and she goes to the bathroom to check the pockets of the jacket. She feels something roll between her fingers and she raises her hand to see a joint on her open palm. She makes a face and she places it in the medicine cabinet. Red continues the search, and she finds the bottle of pills. She fills a glass with water and she returns to Darwin, handing him what he asked for. "_Thanks._" He pops three pills into his mouth, chasing them down with water.

Red walks over to the wall to turn the kitchen light off. "_Red?_" She turns her head to the side, facing her ear to him. "_Good night._"

She quietly nods, the light turns off and she walks down the hallway to sleep with the door closed.

Darwin slowly opens his eyes, and it's morning. The first thing he does is touch his forehead to see if he has a fever and he feels a little hot, but that could be from sleeping near the windows. He wasn't woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of a door being bashed open, so he assumes everything is fine. He leans up from the couch and he touches his side, heading down the hallway. Red's not lying in bed anymore, and she wasn't in the kitchen or in the living room and she isn't in the bathroom. It makes him nervous. Nevertheless, he uses the bathroom and he washes his hands. His blazer and pants are gone.

The apartment door opens, and Darwin leans out of the bathroom to see who it is.

It's Red, and she's holding bags in both arms and he comes to help her. "_I got these._"

He winces when the weight is shifted on him and he sets the bags on the kitchen table.

"_I hope I didn't make you nervous, but I had to buy some groceries and I bought you some medical supplies._" Red sticks her hands inside one of the bags and she takes out a plastic bag of gauze pads, three rolls of surgical tape and a bottle of disinfectant spray.

"_Your clothes is in the laundry room downstairs. I put your, um, weed in the medicine cabinet._"

He glances at her and he sits down to watch her put everything away. "_It's for medicinal use._"

Red shakes her head, but she can't stop herself from smiling.

Darwin watches the way the hem of her green dress brushes against her shines, and he slowly looks her over. "_You got nice legs._"

Red drops a box of pancake mix on the counter and she picks it up. "_Thank you. They came with the rest of my body._" She touches her forehead with the palm of her hand. That was smooth.

"_You got a nice body, too._"

Red turns around, gripping two boxes of noodles in her hands. "_Thank… Thank you. My __boyfriend__ says that, too. My __boyfriend__ says many nice things about me. My __boyfriend__ is nice._"

Darwin slowly smirks when she underlines the fact that she has a boyfriend, but that doesn't stop him from flirting with her. He gets a kick out of her reaction. If she looked uncomfortable, that would be a different story. He's trying to find where the line is. "_Your boyfriend is a lucky man._"

After mentioning her boyfriend, Red takes out her cell phone and she checks it.

"_Somethin' wrong?_"

She shakes her head, and she places a pan on the stove. Darwin turns in his chair to look out the window at the Nomad hotel. The police are still there, the streets are still crowded and the windows are still splattered with blood.

"_I had dreams about it last night, the Nomad. My brothers and I were only a few feet away from each other when they fell. I was too busy slicin' up this one security guard to even notice. It makes me wonder if I could've saved them because we got outta crazier shit before._" He rubs the scar of his neck, exhaling.

Red begins to make breakfast, not really knowing what to say to somebody that witnessed something so horrific. "_I'm sorry._"

Darwin slowly nods, appreciating her sympathy. "_One time, we were after this guy in Cleveland._" He pauses, trying to remember the details. "_All three of us were injured that night. My brother was shot in the back; he couldn't walk. My other brother suffered a blowback from a jammed gun, he couldn't see._" Darwin touches the scar on his neck and he turns his face to the side to let Red see it. "_I got grazed by a bullet, and I passed out._"

Red stares at his neck, and the toast pops out of the toaster. He turns his head to look at her and she looks away. She focuses on scrambling the eggs, busying her mind with breakfast. "_What were their names? Your brothers, I mean._" Red plates the scrambled eggs and she slices the toast, and she sets everything down on the table. She turns to grab some condiments from the fridge.

"_Lester and Jeeves. Jeeves was built like a brick house and he was tall. Good at breakin' doors down in one tackle and all he'd have to do was lean closer to someone to make them talk. Lester was our doctor, and he was always patched us up after every hit._"

Red places the condiments on the table and she sits down, trying to visualize what his brothers must have looked like. They probably had blue eyes like Darwin.

She's about to ask him another question, but Darwin's already biting into his toast. She decides to let him eat, not wanting to ask him too many personal questions. Darwin's homecoming is going to be difficult enough. No more inside jokes, no more impromptu wrestling matches and no more brothers. Red picks at the food on her plate, glancing at her cell phone. Her boyfriend usually calls around this time.

Red gathers the dishes when they're done eating, and Darwin places his napkin down, slowly standing from his chair. "_I can wash these dishes for you and tidy up the kitchen. It's the least I can do since I broke into your home._"

She considers the offer, and she steps away from the sink. "_I'll be downstairs in the laundry room. I shouldn't be too long._" Red leaves the apartment and she heads downstairs. Thankfully, when she gets to the laundry room, Darwin's clothes are still there. She opens the washer and she begins to check the pockets of his blazer, only finding a few dollars. She drops the jacket into the washer and she checks the pockets of his pants. Her fingers brush against something and she tugs it out. Red drops his pants on the floor, staring at the object in her hand. It's an FBI badge. "_Oh, God. No._"

She recognizes the badge number and when she opens the wallet, she sees her boyfriend's picture and his name in bold print. **Donald Carruthers**. She suddenly realizes what must have happened, and she pieces it together like a puzzle. Donald was away, he didn't contact her for a long time and he warned her about these long periods of silence. He was working on this case. Without warning, an icy feeling overpowers her. She leans over to reach for the blazer in the washing machine and she pats the jacket down again. Red looks at the breast pocket of the coat, and there she sees it. _Carruthers_. He has his last name stitched on his blazer and this jacket is riddled with bullet-holes. "_Darwin…_"

Upstairs in the apartment, Darwin's done with the dishes and he's wiping the counter down with a wet cloth. He doesn't hear the door open, he doesn't hear Red walk down the hallway to grab the firearm and he doesn't hear her reload it, but what he does hear is the hammer being dropped behind his head. His pupils dilate, and he raises his hands. "_Turn. Around._"

Darwin can hear the harshness in her voice, and he's wondering if he used the wrong dish soap or something. He slowly turns around to face Red and he glances at the badge in her hand.

"_You son of a bitch, you __**murdered**__ my boyfriend!_"

Darwin blinks at her, and he leans back when she moves the gun closer to his face. "_That's impossible. I didn't kill your boyfriend. The only people I killed were security guards and two bounty hunters. I found that blazer and badge in the elevator when I was escapin'._"

The revolver shakes in her hand and Darwin keeps his eyes on her. Red grips the gun a little tighter. "_You're lying to me. You're __**lying**__ to me!_" She presses the gun against his cheek, forcing him to look away from her. Even in this moment, his blue eyes still manage to distract her. Darwin stares at the Nomad hotel out the window and he sees the news vans still parked on the ground floor near its entrance.

He gets an idea. "_I think I can prove my innocence._" He looks at her from the corner of his eye, and Red narrows her eyes at him.

"_How can you possibly prove your innocence?_" Darwin points to the window and Red glances outside to see what he sees.

"_I bet if you turned the television on, they'll most likely be showin' security footage of some kind._" He points to the small television in the living room, and he continues. "_You'll see for yourself. I bet I didn't even cross paths with your boyfriend._"

Red knows what kind of person Darwin is and she knows that he hasn't stayed alive this long by being stupid, but for some sick reason, a small part of her believes him. She moves around the table to step into the living room.

"_Fine. I want you to sit on the couch, and we're going to watch the news together. If you so much as cough, I'm going to shoot you._"

Darwin keeps his hands up, even though it hurts his shoulder, and he moves into the living room to sit on the couch. Red sits on the floor, and she leans over to turn the television on. She cautiously moves her eyes to the television monitor.

The blackness clears from the screen and it shows a reporter in a red coat, pressing her fingers against her ear. "_If you're just joining us, we're about to release names of the FBI agents that were killed._" Someone off-screen runs into view and he hands the reporter a clipboard. She goes down the list of names, announcing them clearly. The reporter touches her ear again, listening to what's being said to her from the news station. "_New security footage has just been released. We're going to play it right now._" The security image starts to play on mute and it shows Donald Carruthers standing in an elevator with an unidentified male standing in front of the doors. Red widens her eyes.

"_Here, we're seeing Special Agent Donald Carruthers in an elevator with an unidentified male posing as the Security Supervisor. What you're about to see next may shock you._" Carruthers exposes his gun and the alleged Security Supervisor turns on him, and a firefight ensues. The clip ends, and Red drops the firearm on the ground and she runs to the bathroom. Darwin lowers his hands, trying to register what just happened. He gets up from the couch and he heads down the hallway, hearing Red vomit in the bathroom. She flushes the toilet and she leans her back against the wall. She covers her mouth with her hand. Darwin stands in the doorway, unsure how to approach the woman that almost blew his face off a few minutes ago. Well, no one could blame her. Red rips a few paper squares from the toilet roll and she wipes her eyes, looking at him. "_I'm sorry I accused you._"

Darwin steps inside and he crouch down next to Red, thinking about the man in the elevator that killed her boyfriend. Whoever he was, he was a professional. He managed to obtain a security pass, hide among the staff members and he got into an elevator that led to the top floor. It doesn't matter, though. From the footage on that tape, Darwin doubts that he survived. Then again, if he survived, who's to say that others didn't, either?

"_I'm sorry about your boyfriend._" He touches Red's back and he sits down next to her. He props his elbows on his knees, looking up at the mirror in front of the sink.

"_It might not seem like much comin' from a man like me, but I do mean it. Lord knows I've killed many boyfriends._"

Red quiets down, his voice has a calming effect on her, and she looks at him. "_Why?_"

He keeps his eyes down, picking some dirt out from under his fingernail. "_Their abused girlfriends wanted me to._"

Red thinks about that, and it makes her wonder what kind of people he and his brothers were paid to hunt down. Abused women, that's a specific area. Red sighs and she tosses the wet tissue paper into the toilet, standing up from the floor. Darwin touches the edge of the sink and he stands with her. He nods to the living room.

"_Hey, I got an idea. Let's eat some cold leftover pizza for lunch and watch the rest of the news._"

Red manages to show a halfhearted smile, and she follows Darwin into next room. He takes out the cold pizza box from the fridge and he carries it to the coffee table. Red sits down on the couch, eyes glued to the television. Darwin picks the gun off the ground and he presses the hammer up, making sure the safety's on. He sits in the chair near the other window.

The same reporter is talking and she directs the viewers at home to someone in Washington and an elected official in Nevada. Apparently, word has gotten out that one of the FBI agents was arrested and he's stating that Deputy Director, Stanley Locke of the FBI, was involved in a huge cover-up involving the mafia and the death of his own agents at the Nomad hotel. Darwin shakes his head, barely paying attention to what these so-called experts are saying. "_These guys are morons. The only time we hear these people talk is when it's too goddamn late. They have people in their own system that they can't even trust._"

Red keeps staring at the television, and they start to show pictures of the deceased agents.

She turns the volume a little higher when they pause on a picture of Carruthers, and they start to talk about his death.

They switch from the elected official in Nevada and the spokesperson from Washington to two of the local guest speakers. These look like the type of men that rode the short bus to school when they were younger. The man with the camouflage hat talks first. "_Here's one agent that didn't make it to the hospital. His partner was arrested last night and he's being held for questioning, too._"

The second speaker, the one with a police shield on his shirt, chimes in. "_Yes, and I heard that the police had to go to Agent Carruthers' home to tell his wife that he was dead, too. Apparently, no one told her until now. These men and women are…_"

It shows a clip of something previously recorded. Carruthers' distressed wife is being told that her husband was killed in the shootout, and the reporters swarm her front lawn to catch her reaction. Darwin looks at Red, and she's clutching her stomach.

"_He was married? He was married!_" She begins to go into hysterics and Darwin moves over to the couch, wrapping his arms around her. "_No! No! He lied to me! I was nothing to him! He lied!_" Red beats her fists against Darwin's chest, full of rage and hurt. He doesn't waiver or loosen his embrace.

"_I know, Red. I know. He was a cheatin' bastard and he kept you on the side._" Red buries her face in his chest, sick to her stomach with betrayal.

Darwin holds her for what seems like an hour, and she finally simmers down. He slowly leans away to look at her and Red shakes her head, looking away from him. "_I'm so sick of being hurt. This isn't the first time this happened to me and it keeps happening to me. Why can't someone just love me?_"

Darwin scoots back and he touches her shoulder, leaning her over to rest her head on his lap. "_Don't think like that, Red. Just close your eyes and get some rest. You had to deal with plenty of shit today. Just sleep it off._"

The last thing she wants to do is sleep, but her eyes are puffy and her chest aches from sobbing. The fatigue of day slowly lulls her to sleep, and Darwin sits with her.

The evening ages into night, and Red sleeps deeply. Darwin's holding the remote in his hand and he's still watching the news. On the right side of the screen, there's a table of speakers and on the left side of the screen, they show blurry pictures of the unidentified killers that were in the hotel yesterday. He makes it a little louder, but not loud enough to disturb Red.

"_There's something that the government isn't tell their people. There's a huge conspiracy going on and these people have never been seen before until now. Look at them. These are people that have managed to slip into a high-priced hotel, undetected, and they mercilessly slaughtered armed men and women._"

Something about that statement makes him smirk, until he sees a vague picture of Lester and Jeeves. He lowers his eyes and his smirk fades fast. A speaker points at the picture, explaining what she sees.

"_Look at these two people in the picture. They're wearing bulletproof vests and they're carrying illegal weapons. We should be worried that some of these people are out there, living among us like normal citizens._"

Eventually, Darwin's eyes grow heavy and he turns the television off. He sits in the dark living room and he just listens to himself breathe, no other sound can be heard. He might not have his brothers, but he has Red, even if it might only be for one or two more days. After what happened this evening, he doesn't want to leave her alone unless that's what she wants. Darwin lifts Red in his arms and he carries her down the hallway to her bedroom. He gently places her on the bed and he rests his palms on the sheets, staring down at her. Whether he wanted to believe it or not, he felt something for this woman.

Darwin leans back and he lies down next to Red. He touches her shoulder, rolling her against his side, and he wraps his arm around her body. Red murmurs, but she doesn't open her eyes and she doesn't roll away from him. Darwin relaxes his head on the pillow and he closes his eyes, slowly falling asleep. During the night, Darwin starts to sweat and his eyes open wide. He leans up from the bed and he glances around, looking a little panicked. His chest is pounding. He slips out of bed and he heads to the bathroom. The light flickers on and Darwin opens the medicine cabinet, grabbing his joint off the shelf. He heads to the kitchen to find a lighter and he looks through the drawers with shaky hands. He finds an almost empty box of matches and he brushes the red head against the sandpaper, sparking a flame. He lights the joint.

He straddles the open window, and he puffs and puffs, staring at the Nomad. The shaking slowly stops and he smokes the joint until it reaches its end. Darwin exhales, blowing the last cloud out of his mouth. He needed that. He has been so occupied by everything that he forgot about his own demons, but they reminded him that they're still there. Darwin heads back to the bedroom, pausing at the foot of the bed. He reeks of weed and he doesn't think Red will appreciate that.

Darwin turns, and he heads back down the hallway to lie on the couch. When he does, he crosses his ankles and he stares up at the ceiling. He watches the shadows dance until he falls asleep again.


End file.
